hostelling in vancouver

we finally made our way to vancouver.

all it took was a 6 1/2 hour drive from kimberley to kelowna and a 6 hour jaunt by bus to van city. we got in at 5:15 am and zonked out at jane's parent's place. this afternoon i took the bus into town (2 bucks on weekends, even from richmond) and decided to roam about the place, exploring as i went. it's a nice city, very dramatic with the mountain vistas rising from behind the steel and glass towers that dominate the waterfront. gastown reminds me of so many trendy parts of toronto, or even a more glorified and extensive rendering of the hydrostone market in halifax. yaletown is as young as ray's fascination with the yankees, and cranes battle each other in the sky for rental rate domination. there was a game at b.c. place stadium tonight but i decided to keep on walking and found myself amidst a great concrete zoo around gm place. it's a somewhat depressing arena, all greyish brown with mildew staining the facade. it is almost entirely enveloped in roads as well with a construction zone brushing up against it's one side.

the rest of the city is almost a toronto in miniature, replete with indoor malls and fountains that mimic but don't quite mirror the t.dot. not that vancouver is toronto's ugly sister, it's probably the reverse, but it seems like that's what it really wants to be. of course i've been here for all of 12 hours so what do i know?